I talk about it all the time – in a fight all fighters get to a point where they have to answer the question. The question is that point where you consciously ask yourself if you want to keep fighting and try to win, coast and see what happens, or quit. One of my fighters answered the question recently in a fight and was amazed at what a difference it makes to say to your self “I want to win so I am going for it!”
Nick is a guy who has been training with me for a few years now. He had some training previously somewhere else and a fight or 2 before his run with us. He never was able to win a bout and struggled with personal demons because he just couldn’t drop the hammer in a competitive situation.
Nick’s personal struggle got him beat soundly in 2 bouts under our team. In both cases he had everything he needed to win but couldn’t answer the question positively under pressure. His battle has been more mental, borderline spiritual, instead of the usual physical one fighters go thru.
For about 6 weeks Nick trained everyday but Sunday at least once and at least 2 times a day 3 days a week. This was a tough schedule when you consider that he has a full time job on top of this. Day in and day out I pushed Nick to his limit. In all honesty I was trying to break him. If I could break him in training he would break in competition. He never fully broke in training and he stayed tough in his fight.
I can be pretty hard on you when a fight is coming. With Nick I was at my sadistic best. I needed to get Nick out of his own head and have him put some pressure on his opponent instead of himself for a change. In the dojo he had trouble doing this. I rode him relentlessly. I pushed him around, beat him up, and tried to get in his head. He never really let it go in the dojo, which scared me a bit going into the bout.
Come fight time we warmed up nice and long. We broke everything down thru the warmup, starting with footwork, then punches, then punches to kick, clinching, takedowns, positions, submissions, etc…. As the night progressed you could see Nick transforming into a fighter. Nick’s best strikes to date were backstage. He hit the pads and moved better then I have ever seen him before. It was nice to see the work paying off.
Fight time came and Nick had to stand up start a new path for himself or continue to let his past haunt him. Happily I can say he stepped in the cage and fought like a new man. Nick put it all out there. He held nothing back. He took shots and gave shots right back. In the end he got caught in an armbar but he fought as long as he could before he had to tap to save his shoulder.
Walking back to the locker room Nick said something I have heard from all my guys. “I wanted to quit so bad a few times but I said no way I am gonna keep going!” He said 2 or 3 times he looked at the easy way out but refused to give in. He proved to himself that he can fight when he has to and he proved to all of us that he can do this.
I admit that I had major doubts about Nick and his abilities. After his last bout I look at it as a new beginning. He was truly born again as a fighter and on a much better path. He lost by submission but he never quit, never stopped trying, and simply got caught.
Competition gave Nick the opportunity to test himself. In this case it helped him put it all together. He now understands more about training and himself then before this bout. This is what competition is really about. Winning and losing are not always defined by what the scorecard says. Get wrapped up with your record and you will lose the true value of what you are doing.
I don’t care what has happened before. If you put in the work and are honest with yourself you can set a new course of action and get the results that you want. This is why most of us come in to train and why some of us continue to fight. Nick will never be a UFC champ but he will be a more productive and positive person because he knows what he is capable of pushing to achieve.
This is what REAL is all about.
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